1. Field of the Invention
The present general inventive concept relates to an inkjet image forming apparatus to form an image on a print medium, and more particularly, to a wiping assembly to wipe an image forming cartridge that ejects ink to form an image, and an inkjet image forming apparatus having the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
An image forming apparatus may employ various methods for forming an image on a print medium. Among various methods, there is an inkjet method for ejecting ink on the print medium. Such an inkjet-type image forming apparatus is also classified into a shuttle type where an image forming cartridge ejects ink while moving in a width direction of the print medium, and an array type where the image forming cartridge fixed as extended along the width direction of the print medium.
In the inkjet image forming apparatus, a nozzle is likely to be stained with a foreign material such as remaining ink or impurities as used in forming an image on the print medium. Such a foreign material interrupts ejection of ink by blocking the nozzle or is thrown on the print medium together with the ejected ink, thereby deteriorating quality of an image. Accordingly, a wiping assembly is necessary for removing the foreign material.
To clean the nozzle, a conventional wiping assembly applied to the array-type image forming cartridge employs a method of the ejecting a predetermined amount of ink inside the cartridge at high pressure, or a method of pressing the nozzle against an absorptive roller, a blade or the like.
However, the method of ejecting the ink wastes the ink needed for forming an image and may stain the inside of the image forming apparatus with the ejected ink. Further, the absorptive roller or the blade needs frequent replacement since the lifespan thereof is short, thereby deteriorating convenience. In the case of the array-type image forming cartridge, since the nozzles are long arranged along the width direction of the print medium, the wiping assembly also become larger and complicated, so that the image forming apparatus cannot be minimized.